“I’m excited to be joining the next generation of developers. I wonder what kind of exciting apps will be developed this year.”
On the morning of the 8th, CEO Tim Cook appeared on the outdoor stage set up at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, waving his hand and saying, “Hello, everybody.” Hewore a casual outfit of his usual blue short-sleeved T-shirt and gray pants.
On this day, the day before the opening of Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), he visited this place to see in person the apps of university students from around the world selected for this year’s ‘Swift Student Challenge’.
The ‘Swift Student Challenge’ is one of the WWDC events and was launched in 2020. It is Apple’s talent development program that selects and encourages students who have developed excellent apps.
This year, the ‘Swift Student Challenge’ received applications from thousands of people from around the world, and 350 people from 38 countries and regions were selected as winners. Of these 50 winners, only 11 were given the opportunity to demonstrate on this day. Five Korean university students were among the 50, a significant increase from two last year.
Han Ga-on (24), who developed an app that helps quadriplegic patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease communicate by blinking, was also included in the 11 and had the opportunity to demonstrate.
CEO Cook personally listened to 11 college students from around the world explain the apps they had developed. After hearing the explanations, CEO Cook encouraged them by saying things like, “Good idea,” and “Interesting,” and he also asked them questions directly.
The college student developers were given about 3 minutes each. They appealed to the Apple CEO about the usefulness of the apps they developed.
One attendee said, “I didn’t know CEO Cook was coming,” and “It was nice because he seemed to be really listening.” Korean college student Han was the third out of 11 to complete the demonstration.
After seeing Han’s demonstration, CEO Cook said, “We opened the ‘Apple Developer Academy’ in Korea to support the next generation of developers,” and “It’s very encouraging to see graduates like Gaon who are trying to make the world a better place with creativity, dedication, and passion.”
He continued, “Coding has the power to change people’s lives, and Gaon’s app is a powerful example of that possibility,” and added, “I’m glad to meet him, and I’m excited to see what he’ll do in the future.”
Apple has been operating the ‘Apple Developer Academy’ since 2013 in Brazil, which provides education on app development and design, new business development, and entrepreneurship.
Apple Academy is established and operated in 18 regions in 8 countries around the world, and is the only one in Northeast Asia, established in Korea in 2022, producing excellent developers.